AN UNIDENTIFIED person fired five rounds outside the Juhu residence of director Rohit Shetty around 12.45 am Sunday and fled. Shetty was at his residence when the firing took place however no one has suffered any injuries. At least three were arrested while two others were detained from Pune for providing logistical support to the shooter who is on the run. Heavy security was deployed outside the director’s house following the incident.
A social media account that claimed to be linked to Lawrence Bishnoi gang claimed responsibility for the attack and also issued a threat to Bollywood to “fall in line”. Prior to this, Bishnoi gang has allegedly been involved in a firing incident outside the residence of actor Salman Khan and killing of NCP leader Baba Siddique, both in 2024.
An officer said that based on the CCTV footage they found near the director’s multi-storeyed bungalow in Juhu, one person came on a bike and stopped some distance from the bungalow. The person fired five rounds and fled from the spot on the bike. He abandoned the bike after going some distance and fled. The police recovered the bike from Vile Parle and based on the Pune registration number contacted the Pune police to track down the accused.
An officer said that usually there are three security guards at the building and one of them heard the firing and alerted the occupants who contacted the police, following which an FIR was registered in the matter and the probe was handed over to the Mumbai crime branch.
Five persons were detained by the police from Pune of whom at least three were arrested by Sunday night, an officer said. The five detained have been identified as Siddharth Yenpure (20), Samarth Pomaji (18), Swapnil Sakat (23), Aman Marathe (27) and Aaditya Gayaki (19).
Meanwhile, a social media account titled Shubham Lonker Aarzo Bishnoi claimed responsibility for the firing. The post on Facebook read, “Ram Ram, Jai Bajrang Bali to all brothers. Today, we, Shubham Lonkar, Aarzoo Bishnoi, Hari Boxer and Harman Shandu, take responsibility for the firing at film director Rohit Shetty’s home in Mumbai. We messaged him many times not to interfere in our work, but he did not understand.”
The post further threatened that this was just a trailer and that if he didn’t listen, the next bullets would be “into his chest”. It further threatened the Bollywood industry.
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“Mend your ways or your condition will be worse than Baba Siddique’s. To those we have called – fall in line or you will run out of places to hide.” The post ends, saying, “There was only one, there is only one, and there will be only one – Lawrence Bishnoi Group.”
A source said the post appears to be from the gang, as it follows a similar modus operandi to past incidents. “They put up a post on a social media platform, delete it immediately and then circulate its screenshot on social media. This ensures we do not get the URL of the post using which we could trace the location from where it is uploaded,” the officer said.
While Lawrence Bishnoi is lodged at the Sabarmati prison, Anmol Bishnoi who was out of the country was deported from the US in November last year and is currently lodged in Tihar jail.
Shetty shares a good rapport with the Mumbai police, attending several functions organised by them. The Golmaal director has also relied on the Mumbai police to conduct research for his films.
Mohamed Thaver is a highly specialized journalist with the Expertise and Authority required to report on complex law enforcement and legal issues. With a career dedicated to the crime beat for over a decade, his work provides readers with informed and trustworthy insights into Maharashtra's security and justice systems.
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Core Focus: Has been exclusively covering the crime beat for over a decade, building deep, specialized knowledge in the field.
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Mohamed Thaver’s long-standing specialization in the crime beat—combined with his focus on technological aspects like cyber crime and his direct coverage of major institutions like the Mumbai Crime Branch and the Maharashtra Home Department—underscores his Trustworthiness and status as an expert source for detailed and reliable journalism on law and order.
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